VESSEL REVIEW | Viking Mars – Ocean-going 930-guest luxurious liner for Viking Cruises

US-based Viking Cruises has taken delivery of Viking Mars, a new luxury cruise ship built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri.

The Scandinavian-inspired ship is the newest vessel to join Viking’s ocean fleet of identical sisters, which also include Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Orion, Viking Jupiter, and Viking Venus. All seven ships belong to Viking’s “small ships” segment, which indicates their ability to access even the smaller ones among the world’s many popular cruise ports. This then translates into suitability for a broad range of itineraries such as those covering the western Mediterranean, the British Isles, and the fjords of northern Norway.

The Lloyd’s Register-classed, Norwegian-flagged Viking Mars has a length of 745 feet (227 metres), a beam of 94.5 feet (28.8 metres), a draft of 21.9 feet (6.7 metres), and a displacement of approximately 52,690 tons ( 47,800 tons). Power is provided by two 9L32/44CR 6,758hp (5,040kW) and two 12V32/44CR 9,011hp (6,720kW) diesel engines supplied by MAN. These enable the ship to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and a cruising speed of 17 knots.

Photo: Fincantieri

The ship features 465 staterooms that can accommodate a total of 930 passengers. Guest cabin options include an owner’s suite with its own dining area, conference room and private sauna, 46 other spacious suites in two classes, and 418 all-veranda staterooms. The 465 crewmembers are meanwhile housed in 265 separate cabins.

Other facilities include an infinity pool at the Stern, numerous al fresco restaurants, a spa, a sauna, a lounge, an open-air sports deck, a miniature golf course, and a lawn bowling alley. Numerous drinking water stations are found along the port and starboard decks.

As is the practice aboard Viking ships, there are recreational areas such as casinos or even those designed for children. In their place are public rooms that contain bookshelves with a wide selection of reference materials on subjects such as maritime history and world exploration as an alternative form of entertainment for guests. The ship will also have guides who will deliver lectures and host discussions on the various destinations that will be visited so that guests will have a better understanding of these otherwise unfamiliar places.

Work on the interiors was provided by SMC Design and Rottet Studio.

Viking Mars was built in compliance to Safe Return to Port (SRTP) requirements. The vessel’s redundant features will ensure that it can continue normal operation for at least three additional hours following an onboard mishap. This attribute will provide adequate time for either reaching a nearby suitable port or for safely evacuating all passengers and crew. The energy-efficient engines and optimized hydronamics combine to help keep fuel consumption as low as possible while exhaust gas after-treatment systems are also installed to further reduce emissions.

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